LAPD: Former NFL Players Killed In Crash
POSTED: 8:07 am PST December 15, 2005
UPDATED: 11:56 am PST December 15, 2005
<!--startindex-->LOS ANGELES -- Two men, both believed to be former NFL players, were fatally injured Thursday when the speeding car they were in sheared off a fire hydrant and slammed into a parked bus, police said.
Images | Video
Darrell Russell, 29, of Santa Monica, was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following the crash on southbound La Cienega Boulevard near Sawyer Street, said Los Angeles police Detective Mike Fischer of the West Traffic Division.
The fatally injured passenger is believed to be the former National Football League defensive lineman who played for Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said Lt. Paul Vernon of the LAPD's Media Relations Section.
Russell, a native of Pensacola, Fla., played for USC before turning pro.
The driver, who died at UCLA Medical Center, was also a former NFL player, according to NBC4, which cited LAPD sources. His name was not immediately released.
Paramedics using hydraulic tools worked for about 25 minutes to free the men from the wreckage of the 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix, according to a fire department official.
The car left a roughly 50-yard path of destruction before it smashed into the bus just after 6 a.m.
The car's driver may have been street racing before the accident, MTA spokesman Dave Sotero said.
Fischer said another MTA driver reported seeing the Grand Prix speeding as it passed his or her bus shortly before the crash. The cause of the accident, however, remained under investigation.
La Cienega Boulevard, between Sawyer and 18th streets, was closed for more three hours to accommodate the investigation and Department of Water and Power crews, who shut off the flow of water.
Southbound La Cienega Boulevard was closed near Sawyer Street after the accident as crews worked to stop the flow of water from the broken fire hydrant.
POSTED: 8:07 am PST December 15, 2005
UPDATED: 11:56 am PST December 15, 2005
<!--startindex-->LOS ANGELES -- Two men, both believed to be former NFL players, were fatally injured Thursday when the speeding car they were in sheared off a fire hydrant and slammed into a parked bus, police said.
Images | Video
Darrell Russell, 29, of Santa Monica, was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following the crash on southbound La Cienega Boulevard near Sawyer Street, said Los Angeles police Detective Mike Fischer of the West Traffic Division.
The fatally injured passenger is believed to be the former National Football League defensive lineman who played for Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said Lt. Paul Vernon of the LAPD's Media Relations Section.
Russell, a native of Pensacola, Fla., played for USC before turning pro.
The driver, who died at UCLA Medical Center, was also a former NFL player, according to NBC4, which cited LAPD sources. His name was not immediately released.
Paramedics using hydraulic tools worked for about 25 minutes to free the men from the wreckage of the 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix, according to a fire department official.
The car left a roughly 50-yard path of destruction before it smashed into the bus just after 6 a.m.
The car's driver may have been street racing before the accident, MTA spokesman Dave Sotero said.
Fischer said another MTA driver reported seeing the Grand Prix speeding as it passed his or her bus shortly before the crash. The cause of the accident, however, remained under investigation.
La Cienega Boulevard, between Sawyer and 18th streets, was closed for more three hours to accommodate the investigation and Department of Water and Power crews, who shut off the flow of water.
Southbound La Cienega Boulevard was closed near Sawyer Street after the accident as crews worked to stop the flow of water from the broken fire hydrant.
